Gone Girl Premieres at the New York Film Festival

“The truth is, David doesn’t give a fuck,” said Ben Affleck last night at the world premiere of Gone Girl, which opened the 52nd annual New York Film Festival. Would director David Fincher appreciate such flippant words? Probably. “I learned a ton from David,” Affleck continued. “The central thing was and I think this applies to anything you do if you insist on what you want enough, it can happen! I’ve always been sort of polite, and if someone says, ‘No, it costs too much money, we can’t do it in the movie ,’ I go, ‘Okay, that’s too bad. We’ll try something else.’ From now on, I’m not taking no for an answer.”

Affleck plays the deceptively charming husband of Amy Dunne (played by Rosamund Pike, who wore Altuzarra to the premiere), who mysteriously disappears on their fifth wedding anniversary. “I had to be really careful about figuring out how much to give away and how we allow the audience to think of him,” said Affleck.

“Is he somebody that we make judgments about? Is he somebody we like even when we find out he might have done something wrong? Can we understand why? It was a tricky balancing act.”

Seventeen members of the cast and crew were introduced on stage before the screening, including Affleck, Pike, Lola Kirke (in a design from her mother’s store, Geminola), and Emily Ratajkowski (of “Blurred Lines” fame). Producer Reese Witherspoon had walked the red carpet earlier in a red Calvin Klein Collection dress. “If there are any married couples here, maybe you better move apart,” said NYFF director Kent Jones, to an audience that included Ed Norton, Vera Wang, and Peggy Siegal, which migrated to an after party AT the recently revamped Tavern on the Green following the show.

It’s a plot that divides men and women, yes, but one that the screenplay writer and author of the original novel, Gillian Flynn, hopes won’t alienate her legions of fans. “I think people who love the book will find it very much intact here,” she hinted. One such enthusiast is Neil Patrick Harris, who plays an ex-boyfriend of Amy’s who may have something to do with her whereabouts. “I read the book after I found out that I was going to have a meeting with David Fincher,” he said. “I grabbed it, intending to skim, and then I just couldn’t stop, page after page after page. I powered through it and loved it and wish there had been a sequel.” Your move, Fincher.